Pipe cutter with rotary cutter



Jan. 26, 1954 c. w. SHAFER ,666,

PIPE CUTTER WITH ROTARY CUTTER Filed Sept. 15, 1951 1N VEN TOR. Cm EEWCEWJHA Fit Patented Jan. 26, 1954 larence Shafer, Warren,

Ohio, assignor to Beaver Pipe Tools, Inc., Warren, Ohio, a corporationof Ohio Application September 15, 1951, Serial No. 246,799

1 Claim. (01. 3o 1o2 This invention relates to improvements in andrelating to tools for cutting pipe, rods and the like, and especially toan improved pipe cutter which may be used either as a hand tool or inconnection with a power-driven work-surporting and rotating mechanism.More particularly, the present invention is concerned with the provisionof an improved guiding mechanism for a conventional pipe cutter. These,therefore, are the general objects of the present invention.

Generally, the conventional pipe cutter comprises a frame having a fixedjaw at one end thereof, and a movable jaw slidably mounted thereon formovement to and from the fixed jaw. A cutter is mounted in one of thesejaws and a non-cutting pipeengaging member in the other. The cuttergenerally ampuses arotatable sharpened edge wheel, and the pipe-engagingmember usually consists of a pair of spaced rollers mounted in theplaneof the cutting tool on spaced axes which are parallel with the axes ofthe cutting tool, Generally a hand-operated screw is provided toposition the movable jaw and to act as a handle for the tool.

Although pipe cutters of the type above-mentioned are in general use,considerable difiiculty has been encountered in maintaining the cutterat right angle to the work to avoid cutting helical grooves in the workas the tool is swung about the work axis. The tendency to cut helicalgrooves is greatly increased when the cutter is used in connection witha power drive mechanism which rotates the work while the handle of thetool rests against a stationary abutment to insure relative rotationbetween the tool and the work.

A specific object of the present invention is to provide an improvedtype or work-engaging member, which will prevent the cutting of helicalgrooves in the work and, at the same time, efiiciently roll down anyexternal burr formed on the work piece by the cuttingaction.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparentfrom the following description relating to an embodiment of theinvention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Theessential features of the invention will be summarized in the claim.

According to the invention, a cutting wheel is mounted on a shaft or rodcarried by one of the jaws with its axis in a predetermined plane, and apair of roller shafts mounted to the other jaw with their axes parallelwith the spaced equidistant from the axis of the cutting Wheel. Each ofthe last named shafts are provided with a pair of work-engaging rollerswhich are spaced from each other and from the plane of the cuttingwheel. One of these shafts has a third or burr-engaging rollerpositioned intermediate its other two rollers, and in the plane of thecutting wheel. The portions of the pipe cutter extending between the tworollers of the other roller shaft is relieved to prevent engagement ofthe work throughout such portion of the tool. Further, according to theinvention, the roller supporting shafts are positioned in the movablejaw, and the burr-engagin roller is placed on the trailing shaft namelythe shaft adjacent the frame of the tool. M a

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the improved pipe cutter; Fig.2 isa side view of the cutter, a portion of the handle being brokenaway; and Fig. 3 is a sectional view, the plane of which is indicated bythe lines 3-3 on Fig. '2.

As illustrated in the drawings, the cutter comprises an elongated frameIt having a fixed jaw H extending outward at one end thereof, and a boss12 extending outward at its other end in alignment with the jaw andspaced therefrom. The frame is provided with a guideway I4 in which amovable jaw I5 is mounted. The movable jaw is slidably mounted in theguideway' for movement between the fixed jaw II and the boss I2. 'Ihefixed jaw II is provided with .a centrally located slot I 6 and carriesa pin I! which extends thereacross. Rotatably mounted on this pin, whichis secured to the jaw, is a cutting wheel 20, so arranged that itsperipheral cutting edge 2| projects outward from the jaw II over theframe It and toward the movable jaw l5.

The guideway l4 comprises tongue and groove formations which extendalong either side of the frame Iii and which are engaged by a coactingtongue and groove formations carried by the movable jaw i5 and generallyindicated at 22. A suitably threaded rod 28 is threadingly mounted inthe boss l2 and is rotatably secured to the movable jaw 15 in the wellknown manner. This rod is provided with a handle in the form of a crossbar 29 to enable it to be rotated to move the jaw l5 to and from thecutting wheel 20 and to facilitate manual rotation of the tool about theaxis of the work. The rod itself may engage a fixed abutment to hold thetool against rotation when the work is rotated by a power drivemechanism.

The non-cutting pipe engaging members with which the present inventionis particularly concerned are mounted in the movable jaw which,

sure clearance between :a recess 44 which is spaced from byweb portions45 of the jaw.

.rollers 45 guiding action of these rollers. subsequently rolled down bythe roller 50 on the f guiding operation. The rollers 4| 4 ing of thetool which otherwise might result from generally speaking, is ofsubstantially the same width as the frame ID. A pair of shafts or rodsand 3| are rotatably mounted in the movable jaw IS with their axesparallel with the axis of the cutting wheel 29. These rods 30 and 3| arespaced equi-distant from the cutting wheel 20 and from the axisprojected of the threaded rod 28 which intersects the axis of thecutting wheel 20. The rods and 3| extend outward beyond the sides of themovable jaw IS a distance suificient to support guide rollers 4|! and4|. One guide roller 4|] is positioned on each end of the shaft or rod30 while the rollers 4| are positioned on respective ends of the shaft3|. These rollers and 4| are rotatably mounted on their re-' spectiveshafts and are held in position thereon as for instance by cotterpins'42.

The shaft 3| mainly the shaft farthest away.

from the frame l0 passes through a boss-like portion 43 of the movablejaw l5 which spans the space between the rollers 40 of such shaft.

:This boss-like portion has a radius which is smaller than that of therollers 40 so as to init and the work or any burr formed on the work asa result of the cutting action.

The portion of the movable jaw |5 intermediate the rollers M of theshaft 3| is provided with the rollers 4| rotatably mounted on the shaft3| in the recess 44 between the web portions 45 of the jaw. This rolleris of the same diameter as the rollers 40 and 4| heretofore describedand serves to roll down any burr which may be formed on the pipe 'asaresult of the cutting action.

When in use the pipe cutter is generally rotated relative to the work Wby swinging it in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 2 and when'the pipe cutter remains stationary and the work is rotated, suchrotation is in a counter-clockwise direction. Accordingly, the rollers40 on the external shaft 30 are the leading rollers, and play a moreimportant part in the guiding of the tool relative to the work than dothe rollers 4| on the trailing shaft 3|.

mediate the rollers 40 on the leading shaft 30 are The portions of thetool interburr resulting from the cutrelieve d so that any freelybetween the leading ;ting* action passes and hence This burr is therollers 4| on the forward shaft 3 While or leading shaft 30 are highlyimportant in guiding the cutter along the pipe to prevent the 5 cuttingof a spiral groove, the rollers 4| on the shaft 3| also play animportant part in the prevent rock- A roller is does not interfere withthe contact between the intermediate roller 40 and the burr resultingfrom the cutting action. Accordingly, it has been found to be highlyessential that there be provided four external rollers which arepositioned out of the plane of the cutting wheel and the leading pair ofwhich are separated by a portion of the tool which is undercut to permitfree passage of the burr between such rollers, which burr is rolled downby a roller positioned intermediate the trailing pair of guiding rollers4|. Such arrangement has been found highly advantageous particularly onwork such as pipe, the external surfaces of which may be slightlyirregular.

I claim:

A pipe cutting tool having an elongated frame, a jaw fixed to one end ofthe frame, a boss fixed to the other end of the frame and spaced fromthe fixed jaw, a movable jaw mounted on said frame for movement betweenthe boss and the fixed jaw, a threaded rod extending through said bossand projecting toward the fixed jaw, a connection between the rod andsaid movable jaw whereby the movable jaw may be moved to and from thefixed jaw, a cutting wheel rotatably mounted in the fixed jaw with itsaxis extending normal to and intersecting the axis of the threaded rodand adapted to rotate consequent upon the swinging of the tool about aworkpiece, said cutting wheel projecting from the fixed jaw toward themovable jaw, a pair of rods journalled in the movable jaw with theiraxes parallel with the axis of the cutting wheel, and spaced an equaldistance therefrom, one of said rods being adjacent the frame and theother spaced outward therefrom, a pair of rollers mounted on the exernalends of said last named rod at either side of said jaw, said rollersbeing spaced by a portion of said jaw having a diameter less than thatof the rollers to, provide a space between said rollers for the freepassage of any burr resulting from the cutting action, a second pair ofrollers mounted externally of the movable jaw on the other of said rodsand being spaced from each other and fromthe first main pair of rollers,a

, fifth roller mounted on said last named rod intermediate the firstmain rollers to roll down any burr resulting from the cutting action.

CLARENCE W. SHAFER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 76,729 Galleford Apr. 14, 1868 575,688 Brockett Jan. 26, 18971,215,120 Cramer Feb. 6, 1917 1,215,121 Cramer Feb. 6, 1917 2,556,974Nye June 12, 1951

